Just so everyone's aware...

Attempting to bathe a cat is about as easy as stuffing 4 ferrets in a box, one-by-one.




This attempt at levity brought to you by a very angry, damp feline who's doing his best to ignore the fact that he looks like a drowned rat.

I'm terrified of having children,

and this is why.

That letter makes me so ANGRY...not that Zeller never spoke up, but that his family allowed things to get that bad for him. He felt himself unworthy of help, unfixable, possibly because his family didn't care enough. He was such a hurt and broken soul, and while I cannot fault him for taking his own life, I wish he'd sought other options. It's possible he could have had help for it had he just opened up about the issue instead of burying it deep. Burying things like that just causes them to fester and prevents any possibility for healing.

I'm not afraid of losing someone I created as that possibility exists on a daily basis. I'm afraid of that someone being subjected to molestation, abuse, and the kind of pain that cannot be fixed with a band-aid and a cookie. There's no way I would be able to be there 24/7 - a child would have to go to school/friends' houses/the library/elsewhere on a regular basis, and I would have no control over what happens in those locations.

I know that C would like a child, and while I have never wanted children I would be willing to have a child with him...but I'm so very terrified of the risks. It seems like we can't trust ANYONE with our children.

Parents, how have you dealt with these fears? Have they simply never occurred to you or did you want children so badly you were willing to face those risks without fear?

I'm not going to discuss much about what happened in Arizona...

Aside from this:

What happened is disgusting, and should never have happened. The individual who is currently in custody regarding the shooting - assuming he is, in fact, the shooter - should be the one to blame, NOT his party affiliations. Using this as yet another platform for finger-pointing is unconscionable.

Holidays!

I realize I'm a week or three late, but: Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holy-Crap-I'm-Glad-It's-Over to my 4 readers.

I hope you were treated well in your preferred gifty holiday...I certainly was. C purchased a shotgun with the intention of the two of us using it for skeet/trap shooting. It's a Mossberg 500 Bantam Field and Deer package - two barrels, optics, wood furniture, and it's in 20ga since his 12ga hurts me something fierce. I'm still floored he picked it up, and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT to hit the range with it.

In other news, I'll be picking up my first 1911 after tax time.

In still OTHER news, I'm planning on going to the NRA meeting in 2011...since it's being held in a city that's a day trip away from here, I really should go. Are you going?


Other other news: I have a few people who want to hit the range with me as first time shooters. Most of them are WOMEN. I love being in the position to introduce them!

Something to give you cavities...

Last year, around Christmas, I made marshmallows. They were crazy-easy and so much tastier than those store-bought lumps of squish.

I followed the recipe linked here. Go, make some...then do something creative with them.

New thing!

I've been talking with Jennifer about a good way of supporting her husband Michael and his business. If you recall, I got my super awesome purse of awesomeness from Michael about 2 months ago, and am absolutely in love with this thing.

Well, I think people need to know just how talented this man is when it comes to working with leather. There is now a banner at the top of my blog. Go give Michael some love and order a holster, belt, or purse from him, will you?

Well shit.

There goes THAT idea.


H/t to Mike

Okay, now I've seen everything.

How is this right?



Seriously, how?

ETA: I've since read this was due to a frustrated father removing the boy's shirt "because the TSA kept trying to pat the kid down, but said kid wasn't playing. It was out of rage and frustration. The TSA agent put it back on him." I'm glad for some clarification, despite guaranteeing that child will end up scarred from this. It seems we have no escape from the bullshit, save not flying.

I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones - while I flew regularly before the attacks in New York, I have only flown a handful of times since then. Of those flights, only one encounter with TSA agents left me slightly annoyed...so I was unaware just how bad some of these agents really are. Now that they're given more liberty to abuse passengers, their true natures are coming to the surface, and it's appalling. C and I have elected to avoid flying as much as possible, and instead will invest in a camper for vacations. With that, we'll avoid both the TSA AND bedbugs while spending less in gas and lodging. I call that a win.

Other recent links regarding the TSA:
Rape survivors are having mental breakdowns over the patdown procedure. Next time someone says modesty shouldn't be an issue in this country, please, smack the shit out of them for me...then make them read that.
Thanks to an agent ignoring this man, he was forced to board a plane covered in his own urine.
Apparently TSA agents resent the enhanced patdown. Aww, poor babies. Maybe if more of them stood up to those enforcing these policies, something would happen. ...Not that I'd expect any of them to actually say anything to anyone about it. It's easier to whine to a reporter than it is to protest within one's agency.
The ACA wants improved screening procedures. as Breda has said, amputees have had constant issues with the TSA since their inception.
And the very best link of the day? Bruce Schneier, the gentleman who coined the term "security theater," says TSA Scans "Won't Catch Anybody". Imagine that.
If you or someone you know feels they've been abused while going through TSA screening, the ACLU has a complaint form here.

Hopefully someone will get a clue and actually do something to avoid the hell they're putting people through.



......Now if only that weren't wishful thinking.......

I really don't know how to respond to this.

It's been two days since I read this post, and I still don't know how to respond.

I find myself disappointed that someone can so wholly misunderstand the point of Veteran's day...and speechless at how selfish her comments really are.

Please, someone fill my head with kittens and puppies or something equally fluffy and pleasant.

To all of those who are currently in the military or are former military...

Thank you.


I have things I want to say about those who seem to misunderstand the whole point of Veteran's day, but I'll save those comments until tomorrow. Today is for all of you who have put your lives on the line for the rest of us.